Wimbledon 2016 Predictions

By Britwatch Sports

• Britwatch Tennis writers and a few special guests get their heads together for their Wimbledon 2016 Predictions
• Men’s draw, women’s draw and how far the Brits will go
• The Tennis Island & Sport Face join in the fun

WIMBLEDON, UK – It’s that time of year again – we gaze into a crystal balls and come  up with our predictions for Wimbledon 2016.

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ATP	CHAMPION	SHOCKER	DARK HORSE	BRITS
Ros	Murray	Kyrgios	Thiem	Murray – Title Bedene – R1 Edmund R2 Evans – R2 J Ward – R1 A Ward – R1 Klein – R1 Broady – R1
Niall	Djokovic	Wawrinka	Raonic	Murray – F Bedene – R1 Edmund – R2 Evans- R2 J Ward – R1 A Ward – R1 Broady – R1
Jake	Murray	Tomic	Muller	Murray – Title Bedene – R1 Edmund – R2 Evans- R1 J Ward – R1 A Ward – R1 Klein – R1 Broady – R1
Tom	Djokovic	Nishikori	Zverev	Murray – F Bedene – R1 Edmund – R2 Evans – R2 J Ward – R1 A Ward – R1 Klein – R1 Broady – R1
Michael	Djokovic	Nishikori	Kohlschreiber	Murray – F Bedene – R1 Edmund – R2 Evans – R2 J Ward – R1 A Ward – R1 Klein – R1 Broady – R1
Giulio	Djokovic	Tomic	Mahut	Murray – F Bedene – R1 Edmund – R1 Evans – R2 J Ward – R1 A Ward – R1 Klein – R1 Broady – R1
René	Djokovic	Ferrer	Zverev	Murray – F Bedene – R1 Edmund – R2 Evans – R2 J Ward – R1 A Ward – R1 Klein – R1 Broady – R1
Victoria	Djokovic	Thiem	Karlovic	Murray – F Bedene – R1 Edmund – R1 Evans – R1 J Ward – R1 A Ward – R1 Klein – R1 Broady – R1

WTA	CHAMPION	SHOCKER	DARK HORSE	BRITS
Ros	Kerber	Kvitova, Bencic	Wozniacki	Konta – R4 Watson – R2 Broady – R1 Robson – R1 Moore – R1 Swan – R1
Niall	Serena	Muguruza	Keys	Konta – R4 Watson – R2 Broady – R1 Robson – R1 Moore – R2 Swan – R1
Jake	Serena	Kvitova	Keys	Konta – R1 Watson – R2 Broady – R2 Robson – R1 Moore – R2 Swan – R1
Tom	Serena	Bencic, Radwanska	Vandeweghe	Konta – R4 Watson – R3 Broady – R1 Robson – R1 Moore – R2 Swan – R1
Michael	Keys	Halep	Vandeweghe	Konta – R3 Watson – R2 Broady – R1 Robson – R1 Moore – R1 Swan – R1
Giulio	Kerber	Bertens	Makarova	Konta – R3 Watson – R2 Broady – R1 Robson – R1 Moore – R1 Swan – R1
René	Keys	Vinci	Vandeweghe	Konta – R1 Watson – R1 Broady – R1 Robson – R1 Moore – R1 Swan – R1
Victoria	Serena	Bencic	Strycova	Konta – R1 Watson – R1 Broady – R1 Robson – R1 Moore – R1 Swan – R1

Ros Satar

ATP:

Champion: Andy Murray

The Ivan Lendl effect will kick in, but it will be no three set picnic this time – he will need to grind all the live long day for a second Wimbledon title

Shock: Nick Kyrgios

Radek Stepanek is a tricky enough first round encounter, and then the prospect of Dustin Brown next – could see Kyrgios upended early

Dark Horse: Dominic Thiem

Predicted to go as far as the last eight, but has been a headache for Stan Wawrinka in the past, so could cause the upset along the way.

 

WTA:

Champion: Angelique Kerber

It may sound implausible but Kerber probably looks the stronger on paper to come out of the other half of the draw. Garbiñe Muguruza is short on grass time and Kerber may be better equipped to ride out the post-Slam winning slump.

Shock: Petra Kvitova

The two-time Wimbledon champion has lacked consistency and perhaps even more of a punt will be Tsvetana Pironkova taking out Belinda Bencic in the first round.

Dark Horse: Caroline Wozniacki

It’s about time that the Dane reverses her fortunes. She has looked ok on grass and the injured ankle has held up well – even her third round loss had some good content

 

Brits:

Men:

Andy Murray: Title

The Lendl effect will come into play, and not before time.

Aljaz Bedene: R1

Richard Gasquet is enjoying a bit of a purple patch at the moment, and will ultimately be too tough.

Kyle Edmund: R2

Edmund could edge past Adrian Mannarino in a four or five setter, but not past Djokovic.

Dan Evans: R2

Might edge past  who is shy of match practice, but will go out most likely to Alexandr Dolgopolov

James Ward: R1

No chance of getting past Djokovic who will get past him at a canter

Brydan Klein: R1

Incredibly humbled as per his Facebook messages at the AELTC granting him a wildcard – but he draws Nicolas Mahut – enough said.

Alexander Ward: R1

David Goffin – too strong a seed but the experience will be good.

Liam Broady: R1

He draws some chap named Murray – apparently he’s quite good!

 

Women:

Johanna Konta: R4

She has a very tough starter with an in-form Monica Puig, but she has bashed through a lot of matches so give Konta an edge but Agnieszka Radwanska will be too much

Heather Watson: R2

While it would be great to see another potential R3 match up against Serena Williams, Kristina Mladenovic is hitting some fantastic form just now.

Naomi Broady: R1

Elina Svitolina is fairly steady at the moment, but I am happy to have this one proved wrong

Laura Robson: R1

Yes we know that Robson upended Kerber on these very lawns, a lifetime ago, but a lot has happened to both. If she was match-sharp and consistent – this would have been a different story

Tara Moore: R1

This is another interesting encounter – Moore has been hanging tough in some challenging matches but ultimately coming up short. Alison Van Uytvanck’s experience though will count.

Katie Swan: R1

Timea Babos’ returning against Kvitova was frightening. Good experience for the young Brit.

 

Niall

ATP:

Champion: Novak Djokovic

With Roland Garros finally added to his already large list of achievements, Djokovic will be aiming to add another with the calendar year Grand Slam. He has looked near enough unstoppable in best of five matches for the better part of two years and it is difficult to see that trend ending.

Shock: Stan Wawrinka

Despite back to back quarter final appearances, Wawrinka has traditionally struggled on grass. There are some dangerous players in his section, including Juan Martin Del Potro in round two. The Swiss may find this draw a difficult one to progress through.

Dark Horse: Milos Raonic

The Canadian is a former semi finalist at Wimbledon and has a style that translates well on grass. If Raonic’s serve is firing then he could be a dark horse contender to take home his first grand slam title.

WTA:

Champion: Serena Williams

It is strange to see that the world number one has not won a grand slam yet. The pressure of tying Graf has certainly taken its toll, but Wimbledon suits Serena and it is difficult seeing her lose.

Shock: Garbiñe Muguruza

It has often happened to newly crowned grand slam champions, and Muguruza is always prone to an upset. Giorgi in round one is a difficult match for the Spaniard, maybe there’s an upset on the cards?

Dark Horse: Madison Keys

Coming in off the back of her Birmingham title win, Keys will be full of confidence and her big hitting style suits grass. The American is certainly one to look out for in this draw.

Brits:

Men:

Andy Murray: Final

Working with Lendl, the British number one will look to rekindle his 2013 Championship form. He has been drawn away from Roger Federer which is a bonus, but Murray just can not seem to get the better of Djokovic over five sets.

Aljaz Bedene: R1

Gasquet is a tough draw for the British number two. The Frenchman knows his way around the grass courts of Wimbledon and will be too much for Bedene to handle.

Kyle Edmund: R2

The Brit has a winnable round one against Mannarino but Djokovic in the second round will be too much to handle.

Dan Evans: R2  

Jan-Lennard Struff could be a tricky opener but one Evans should win. Dolgopolov will likely be his undoing in the second round.

Liam Broady: R1 

Loses in the opening round to Murray.

James Ward: R1 

He has drawn Djokovic.

Alex Ward: R1 

Loses out to Goffin.

 

Jake Davies

ATP:

Champion: Andy Murray

The arrival of Lendl back in the coaching set up could make a big difference and guide Murray to his second Wimbledon title. He’s also never lost to Djokovic on a grass court before as he leads the grass H2H 2-0.

Shock: Bernard Tomic

In a match between two former Wimbledon quarter-finalists I feel Fernando Verdasco might edge the 19th Tomic in the first round.

Dark Horse: Gilles Muller

Muller gets the best out of his game on the grass as it’s a surface that allows him to fully express his serve and volley game. I predict he could knock out one or two of the seeds in Wimbledon this year.

 

WTA:

Champion: Serena Williams

Williams has a few tricky matches in her way to the title, but I feel she will equal Steffi Graf‘s record in number of slams won.

Shock: Petra Kvitova

The two-time Wimbledon champion has a very difficult road to the title. If she beats Sorana Cirstea, she faces a potential match up with Ekaterina Makarova, who loves playing on the grass. I see Kvitova bombing out in one of the early rounds for sure.

Dark Horse: Madison Keys

The young American has made some serious strides in recent weeks on grass and I think the draw could open up for her to move even further this time around.

 

Brits:

Men:

Andy Murray: Title

Aljaz Bedene: R1

A tough draw for Bedene facing last year’s Wimbledon semi-finalist. Gasquet could quite possibly make the Quarter-Finals this year and I believe he should dispatch Bedene in straight sets.

Kyle Edmund: R2

Edmund prefers the clay courts but could very easily win a round at Wimbledon this year.

Dan Evans: R1

His opponent is Germany’s Struff. He could serve Evans off the court in this encounter.

James Ward: R1

Wild card Ward will feel over the moon at his draw as he opens up against World No.1 and three-time champion Djokovic.

Alexander Ward: R1

The No. 11 seed Goffin who has made some giant strides inside the last twelve months should be a difficult task for the British wild card entry.

Brydan Klein: R1

Klein faces a good grass court player in Mahut, so he could quite possibly exit the competition early.

Liam Broady: R1

Broady won an epic first round match against Marinko Matosevic at Wimbledon last year, but will fall early this year as he faces 2013 Wimbledon champion Murray.

 

Women:

Johanna Konta: R1

Konta has one of the most difficult sections of the draw. She plays Puig in the first round and potentially Magdalena Rybarikova or Genie Bouchard in Round 2. I think she will fall to Puig in the first round.

Heather Watson: R2

Her first opponent is Annika Beck, who prefers the red clay surface. A potential match against Mladenovic could prove difficult given the Frenchwoman’s decent run in Eastbourne.

Naomi Broady: R2

I think if Broady has one of her good serving days she can get the better of Svitolina, who has never posted very good results on the grass. Her campaign should end when she plays the winner of Julia Goerges-Yarolava Shvedova in Round 2.

Laura Robson: R1

Robson beat Kerber in Wimbledon 2011, but a lot has happened in both their respective careers since that match. Kerber will be too tough for the Brit.

Tara Moore: R2

Moore’s first round opponent has had a lay-off through injury and Moore has played very well in recent weeks.

Katie Swan: R1

Babos is having one of her best years on tour. It’ll be a good learning experience for Swan who features in her first grand slam main draw.

 

Tom

ATP:

Champion: Novak Djokovic

Many say he’s due a bad day, but almost impossible to imagine anyone else lifting the trophy in two weeks’ time.

Shock: Kei Nishikori

Not a fan of the grass having never been past the fourth round, and pulling out of Halle has hampered SW19 preparations even more.

Dark Horse: Alexander Zverev

Strong performance in Halle and prodigious talent. Quite simply: His time to shine.

 

WTA:

Champion: Serena Williams

Fell short in final at year’s first two majors, but Centre Court on the grass is a completely different kettle of fish.

Shock: Belinda Bencic/Agnieszka Radwanska

Both struggling for form, and could open the door for a surprise in a quarter also containing Konta and inconsistent Kvitova.

Dark Horse: Coco Vandeweghe

The champion in ‘s-Hertogenbosch also made last week’s semi-finals in Birmingham and should be refreshed after a week off.

 

Brits:

Men:

Andy Murray: Final

Aliaz Bedene: R1

Kyle Edmund: R2

Dan Evans: R2

James Ward: R1

Alexander Ward: R1

Bryan Klein: R1

Liam Broady; R1

With the possible exception of Edmund (Mannarino) and Dan Evans (Lennard-Struff) any British progress outside of Murray (who will play Broady) looks unlikely. Time to pray for James Ward too.

 

Women:

Johanna Konta: R4

Heather Watson: R3

Naomi Broady: R1

Laura Robson: R1

Tara Moore: R2

Katie Swan: R1

Off the back of last year Watson should make the third round where she’ll meet Serena. Moore will have work hard for a first round win but the others will struggle.

 

Michael

ATP:

Champion: Novak Djokovic

He just seems unstoppable right now.

Shock: Kei Nishikori

The No.5 seed has a poor record on grass, is not fully fit and is not in very good form

Dark Horse: Philipp Kohlschreiber

He’s had some good results at Wimbledon on the past and has the firepower necessary to beat Ferrer in Round Three.

 

WTA:

Champion: Madison Keys

Played the best tennis of her career so far to win Birmingham and seems to be getting better and better all the time.

Shock: Simona Halep

Injury forced her to pull out of Birmingham and ruined her Wimbledon preparations, so it seems unlikely she will escape a tough section featuring Keys, Ostapenko and Kiki Bertens.

Dark Horse: Coco Vandeweghe

She’s played some brilliant grass-court tennis this year and was superb at Wimbledon last year so she is certainly capable of beating any player outside the world’s top 10, and may even have a chance against the top 10.

 

Brits:

Men:

Andy Murray: Final

Aliaz Bedene: R1

Kyle Edmund: R2

Dan Evans: R2

James Ward: R1

Alexander Ward: R1

Bryan Klein: R1

Liam Broady; R1

 

Women:

Johanna Konta: R3

Heather Watson: R2

Naomi Broady: R1

Laura Robson: R1

Tara Moore: R1

Katie Swan: R1

 

Guest Predictions

We have invited our friends at SportFace & The Tennis Island to weigh in with their thoughts

 

Giulio Gasparin – SportFace

Sports journalist for a series of outlets and freelance TV, radio and social media correspondent for EBU, Eurovision and EHF. Tennis writer of the magazine Il Tennis Italiano and winter sports and tennis editor for Sportface.it

 

ATP:

Champion: Novak Djokovic

The Serb has not played a single warm up event, but the draw is favourable for a nice momentum build up. Mannarino looks to be his biggest threat in the first week, which says a lot despite the nice game of the French lefty on fast surfaces.

Shock: Bernard Tomic

Tomic being upset in Round 1 by Verdasco. The Australian won at Queen’s but that does not mean he is sure of repeating it or in big danger against the powerful Spaniard.

Dark Horse: Nicolas Mahut

A good first round and then a chance to play against David Ferrer, whose form is far from the best days. The Frenchman loves grass and the recent win in the Netherlands is a great boost for his confidence.

 

WTA:

Champion: Angelique Kerber

I am sure the rest will say Serena Williams, but I stick to my prediction of a slam-less year for the American. The German loves playing on grass and her game suits it perfectly if she mixes defence to offence. Her draw is good to build up the momentum and the form in the early stages.

Shock: Kiki Bertens

Losing to Jelena Ostapenko in the opener. Despite the fantastic run in Paris, the Dutch left Paris injured and has not played since, while the Latvian has showed some great tennis in these past weeks.

Dark Horse: Ekaterina Makarova

The Russian has the perfect game for grass and an easy opener. Kvitova awaits in round 2, but it is not a given, as the Czech plays an in-form Cirstea.

 

Brits:

Men:

The draw did not favour the home players: apart from Murray, who would I be surprised not to reach at least the quarters, the rest of the field will have problems reaching the second round, with the only exception of Evans.

Women:

Not very lucky for the Brits again: Konta, the most in-form of the squad, will face a hot-form Puig in round 1, Watson has an easier debut, but it ends there. No chances for Broady and Robson.

René Denfeld – The Tennis Island

René Denfeld is a 28 year old tennis writer/weather frog from Frankfurt, Germany. He’s got a dodgy forehand, laserlike backhand and can be found over at The Tennis Island as well as on twitter @Renestance.

 

ATP:

Champion: Novak Djokovic

I was looking at the draw from as many angles as possible and while the pressure on Djokovic will be growing with each Slam he wins, he has the sort of draw that seems reasonable enough for him to get through to the finals even if he isn’t on his A game.

Shock: David Ferrer

Does anyone think Ferrer is going to do anything at Wimbledon? Probably not — that’s one seed that seems ripe for pickings at the hands of e.g. Mahut.

Dark Horse: Alexander Zverev

As always, it remains tough to pick a genuine dark horse on the men’s side due to the general dominance of the big names but this Wimbledon, it feels like there might be a few more openings in the draw. Particularly the second and third quarter might allow someone slightly more surprising to sneak through. So I’ll back on fellow German Zverev to do some more things here. The 19 year old has landed in a decent section of the draw and if things break his way, he might go further than expected.

 

WTA:

Champion: Madison Keys

The even level playing field hasn’t felt as even as this in a long time. The entire draw seems littered with dangerous floaters and struggling higher seeds. Emerging out of the carnage will be — Madison Keys? The American might just have the right draw to navigate her way through to the later stages of the tournament and who knows who else will be there. It could be a myriad of players.

Shock: Roberta Vinci

Out of my hat I draw a name in the same sector as Vandeweghe and that’s Vinci. Alison Riske has a noted fondness for the green lawns whereas the Italian 6th seed has been struggling over the course of the last few weeks.

Dark Horse: Coco Vandeweghe

Seeded at 27, could easily repeat her feat of making it to the quarterfinals for the second year in a row and she has played well enough in s’-Hertogenbosch and Birmingham.

 

Brits:

The only one who hasn’t been hosed here is Murray — the rest of the Brits have received fairly terrible draws on both the men’s and women’s side, pretty much all drawing high seeds or the most dangerous floaters around (Puig). I do expect Murray to make the finals but the other have been dealt fairly rough cards!

Victoria Chiesa – The Tennis Island

Victoria Chiesa is a journalism graduate student from New York, who was once known to umpire junior tennis on weekends and the occasional Wednesday.

ATP:

Champion: Novak Djokovic

It’s so difficult to pick against the best player on the planet, so I won’t.

Shock: Dominic Thiem

The Austrian’s rise has been one of the stories of 2016, but he has to run out of gas eventually — a match with Halle champion Florian Mayer first up is a tough place to start, and a potential match with either Zverev or Tomas Berdych to make the quarterfinals is even tougher.

Dark Horse: Ivo Karlovic

I’ll have my eye on Karlovic, who could make some noise at the No. 23 seed. The serve of all serves has compatriot Marin Cilic and Nishikori in his section, but might we see Big Ivo bust brackets and make the quarterfinals again? I can see it.

WTA:

Champion: Serena Williams

Wimbledon has long held special memories for the World No. 1, and after falling short in tying Steffi Graf at the first two slams of 2016, I have a feeling she’ll have another special memory for the Wimbledon scrapbook at the end of the fortnight. 

Shock: Belinda Bencic

I’m worried about Bencic for two reasons. Not only has the Swiss struggled with injury this year — also being forced to retire in Birmingham — but she’s had the misfortune of drawing the perennial looming force of Pironkova in the first round. Though Bencic won in three when the two played in round one last year, it’s a very different situation for both 12 months later.

Dark Horse: Barbora Strycova

Despite landing in a section headlined by two-time champion Kvitova, who has a sparkling record against her compatriots, the 30-year-old comes into Wimbledon in comparatively better form than her younger compatriot. The runner-up in Birmingham, the 2014 Wimbledon quarterfinalist more than knows her way around a grass court, and potential meetings between fellow grass-court connoisseurs Bencic or Pironkova and Tamira Paszek could be on the cards for her to make a second-week run.

Brits:

ATP: Outside of Andy Murray, the prospects are not good for the home squad. Three(!) drew a seed first up, including James Ward for Djokovic and Liam Broady for Murray himself. Yikes.

WTA: Copy+paste on the above, really. Of the group though, don’t sleep on Naomi Broady — the big-server should have the game to compete on grass, and drawing No. 17 Svitolina on grass isn’t the worst of all possible draws. (Then again, Broady only held twice in slumping to defeat to Puig in Eastbourne.)

Wimbledon takes place between 27 June to 10 July

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